WATCH: Ibra stuns England

Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in rampant form scoring all four of his country's goals

The Paris Saint-Germain striker defied belief when he beat Joe Hart with a diagonal overhead kick from almost 30 yards

People came to hail Gerrard for winning his 100th cap and run the rule over Roy Hodgson’s next generation of stars in Stockholm.

But it was Ibrahimovic who stole the headlines after doing his finest impression of a one-man wrecking ball to inflict on Hodgson his first regulation defeat since taking charge as England boss.

Not content with scoring a hat-trick to fire the Swedes ahead, Ibrahimovic then produced a moment of genius at the death with a goal that will be talked about for a long time.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker defied belief when he beat Joe Hart with a diagonal overhead kick from almost 30 yards.

What a shame, too, that this night will be remembered mainly for Ibrahimovic considering it had promised so much for Hodgson and his experimental side.

Hodgson had been hoping a newcomer would make a name for himself in this international friendly, but it is safe to assume Steven Caulker wasn’t top of his list of suspects.

All week the attention had been focused on teenager Raheem Sterling, along with Wilfried Zaha, as Caulker slipped under the radar en route to his first international cap.

But the Tottenham defender emerged from the shadows in some style with a debut goal and impressive all-round ­performance as England threatened to secure a first win in Stockholm since 1937.

Caulker, who was on loan at Yeovil less than two seasons ago, became the first player to score on his England debut since David Nugent in 2007.

He will be hoping this is all he has in common with the striker, who failed to win another cap.

Leon Osman and Sterling also impressed on their debuts while Jack Wilshere made a safe return to the international fold and Zaha came on as a late substitute as Hodgson dished out six new caps.

Hodgson was looking to finish 2012 on a high but needed some big performances from some unheralded stars to achieve his goal.

At the opposite end of the spectrum Gerrard won his 100th cap to join an exclusive list of centurions. It was a proud moment for the Liverpool ace, who even got a Swedish rendition of our national anthem, and the last thing he wanted was a poor performance from his men to spoil his big night.

There was less pressure on the visitors this time round, but last month’s woeful display in Poland in the World Cup ­qualifier still meant Hodgson’s men needed to respond.

There was also the incentive of Brazil being the next opponents at Wembley in February and who would want to miss out on that?

Hodgson’s men started well and were looking like building some momentum until it was brought to a shuddering halt.

Sterling shouldn’t shoulder all the blame for the Swede’s opening goal on 21 minutes but he was caught in possession and allowed Olsson to break.

Martin Olsson combined well with Mathias Ranegie in acres of space down the left before sending over a cross which found Ibrahimovic.

The Tottenham star did well to block his initial shot but the Swedish talisman seized on the loose ball to poke it past the helpless Hart.

The hosts almost doubled their lead on 28 minutes but Ranegie just failed to reach a superb cross from Sebastian Larsson.

Ibrahimovic then drilled a long-range shot wide before Hart and Gary Cahill got in a woeful mix-up to allow ­Ibrahimovic to tee up Ranegie but he spooned his shot over.

Erik Hamren’s men were beginning to smell English blood as Hodgson stood on the sidelines looking suitably perplexed.

But his frown soon disappeared when England hit back to stun the Swedes and take the lead with two goals in three minutes close to half-time.

Danny Welbeck hauled his side level on 35 minutes with a close-range volley from Ashley Young’s superb cross, after Sterling had picked out the Manchester United winger.

Hamren’s men had barely digested the equaliser when Caulker pounced from close range to convert Gerrard’s free-kick at the back post.

Having scored a crucial goal, 20-year-old Caulker then saved one at the other end with a superb challenge to deflect an Ibrahimovic effort over the bar.

Hodgson continued to experiment after the break, handing further debuts to Ryan Shawcross and Carl Jenkinson while recalling Tom Huddlestone for his first cap since facing Japan in 2010.

But Hodgson wasn’t having things his own way and Ibrahimovic levelled on 78 minutes with his second goal after getting the better of Shawcross.

Ibrahimovic fired Sweden ahead on 84 minutes before leaving his best till last.